Zero hour
by pvt jim
Summary: Security officer Hawks knew about Horzine's 'projects', he had dealt with smaller outbreaks before. But nothing like this not on this scale. He wasn't ready for this.


Security officer Hawks felt a shiver creep down his spine as a gust of the chilled night air found its way under his jacket. Hawks hated the fall and he hated Horzine for only issuing him the navy blue wind breaker he wore now. He reached down and zipped it all the way up so it formed a high collar around his neck above his Kevlar assault vest. That complete Hawks started walking again his right hand returning to the pistol grip of his beat up H&K G3. That was one of the few new and unused items Horzine had issued him and he had taken good care of it like any former soldier would. However with the amount of use it had seen the outside had gotten a very weathered appearance. He had to replace all seven magazines he was given and bought a few extra ones all of it out of his own pocket. Then the bastards took the cost of ammo out of his paycheck. Which Hawks didn't think anything of the first time but when he started going through ammo like candy he was a little ticked off but the pay was remarkably good. When he received his interview he thought it was too good to be true.

With the starting pay at 25 dollars an hour with a guaranteed raise at the end of the year(how much depended on his performance throughout the year) plus an extra 15 dollars an hour of hazard pay for being a security officer. Then time 'n' a half for over time and double time on holidays. Then they provided him and his family with free health insurance as long as they went to one of the many Horzine owned hospitals. And in 30 years of service he could retire and be set for life with Horzine paying the bills while he sat on his ass, watching tv and drinking beer. All he had to do was to pass a fitness test and marksmanship test every six months. He had said yes as soon as the interviewer was done speaking. If he had know then what he did know he would have punched the Horzine asshole in the face and walked out. He was making 40 dollars an hour and now he was making 50 and he had almost quit several times.

Hawks had enlisted in the army at the age of 17, served his six years and started working for Horzine at 23 and after seven years of service he was old at the age of 30. The things he had seen were far worst in when he had been in the military. Horzine had flown him, his wife and his son down a week after his interview and after they had unpacked and gotten settled in the house Horzine had given them, Hawks was taken to his duty station. He was driven to the middle of a forest and taken to a warehouse (bunker was a better word for it) surrounded by a wall and trees. Hawks was whisked inside passed a couple of security checkpoints and emerged into a expansive underground installation complete with full living quarters. He was given a navy blue shirt and black trunks and was ordered to do push-ups and sit-ups for a minute. After he passed he was taken to a track and made him run a mile and a half in under 15 minutes. Being young and fresh out of the military he passed with easy. Then before the sweat had dried on his forehead they had him suit up in his new uniform. Navy blue cargo pants, white under shirt, a navy blue jacket, (that seemed to be a knock off of a army jacket complete with his last name over the right chest pocket and Horzine security officer above the left) a black soft cap, and a pair of black steel toe boots. Then they gave him a black assault vest also with his name on it. The next thing Hawks knew he was in an indoor firing rang with a 9mm and two magazines of ammunition laid out before him.

"Shooter lock and load." a voice over a pa said. Without hesitation Hawks slid the magazine into the pistol grip and snapped the slide forward.

"Shooter get ready." the voice said. A second later targets popped up at ranges of 10 meters to 100 meters. After both magazines he had scored sharp shooter. Hawks was then given his G-3 shot a quick zero and scored expert. His ears still ringing and the smell of gun powder in his noise they took him to admin where he received his clearance badge and the rest of his gear(flashlight, nightstick, hand cuffs, canteens and other things of the like). He received a short "welcome aboard" brief and was put on duty with n an hour and a half of his arriving. There was a incident that night.

He was paired with a senior officer by the name of Alan Stiff. Stiff was 39 and a 20 year vet working for Horzine, he had enlisted into their security force at only 19. They both walked down a cinder block corridor G-3s held at the low ready when both their radios squawked to life.

"All on duty security personal there is a code amber in C wing observation labs!" a distressed voice yelled "I say again all available security personal report to C wing observation labs!" Hawks shot a quick glance at Stiff who only gave a slight shake of his head before he broke out into an all out run. Hawks quickly caught up and ran alongside Stiff.

"What's going on?" Hawks almost demanded trying to keep his face and voice composed.

"Lock and load kid." was all Stiff said a slight pant in his voice from age. Hawks, who didn't find it necessary to have a round chamber in his G3 for patrolling inside the compound, worked the bolt on his G3. Stiff lead then through the twisting halls of the underground bunker pass other staff running in the opposite direction. When they entered the C wing they meet three more security officers who fell in behind Hawks and Stiff. The five skidded to a stop outside of a sliding steel door requiring key card access. Four of them formed a semicircle around the door as Stiff readied his id card. The door slid open and the five stormed in from the semicircle on the other side facing out this time. Hawk's mind couldn't begin to understand what he was seeing.

People, no that wasn't the right word. Things man shaped seemingly to be lacking skin for their bright red muscles were visible. It's left arm was normal till it got to the elbow where it seemed to have stopped growing and was underdeveloped. It's right arm however was fully developed and strapped to it was some kind of blade about the size of a sword. There was roughly 40 of these...things lose in the lab.

Hawks' mind was still in the process of understanding what was happening when one of them plunged its blade though a lab assistant, ripped him in half and started advancing towards Hawks. The rest of the group opened up firing on the beasts while Hawks stared at the advancing monster. Adrenalin suddenly flooded his system and his instincts kicked in. Hawks thumbed the rifles switch from safe to semi, shouldered it and fired a drop tap center mass. The thing's torso jerked back as the rounds ripped through it. The beast stumbled and Hawks waited for it to fall, but it didn't. Hawks watched in amazement and horror as the thing started after him again. Hawks fired again another double tap straight though it's chest. The beast took it in stride and continued its advance towards Hawks brandishing its blade. At that point Stiff stepped next to Hawks shouldered his own rifle and fired a lengthy burst into the creature. The thing finely fell to the ground and lay still.

"Don't hold back!" Stiff Shouted above the gunfire and screaming of the lab workers. Stiff pivoted to gun down two more of the things as they chased a lab tech. Stiff words fresh in his mind Hawks switched his aim to a beast that was busy hacking a janitor to pieces. Hawks emptied the rest of his magazine turning the beast into pieces itself. Hawks dropped the empty magazine, slammed a new one home and slapped the bolt forward. But by then it was over.

Total time two minutes, 30 freaks killed, seven people dead, about half a million in damages, and Hawks only killed one of them. In fact if it happen been for Stiff Hawks would have been just another dead new guy that couldn't hack it encountering his first outbreak. The five officers slowly filed out of the room as janitors, maintenance workers, and medics rushed in to return the lab to "normal operation". The three officer whose names Hawks didn't know engaged glances and left without a word. Stiff and Hawks resumed their patrol. They walked in silence for the rest of their shift. When there relief showed up and after they had handed in their rifles and hung up their vests did Stiff finely say something.

"Come on kid I'll buy you a drink." He said as he closed his locker. Hawks still in a daze followed Stiff to the dimly light, run down employee lounge and bar. They took a seat at a table and ordered their drinks. They arrived and that's when Stiff laid it out for Hawks.

"Alright kid," Stiff began. "That did just happen. You did alright but do not under estimate those experiments."

"Experiments?" Hawks asked finishing his first beer already and was busy waving to the waiter to get a second one.

"Yes," Stiff said with a sigh. "Horzine has many projects on and off record. What you saw was a off record project making a army of freaks they can control to...well who really knows. This wasn't even a large out break and those weren't even the dangerous ones."

"What there has been other ones?" Hawks demanded leaning forward.

"Yes. There was one time were we were almost completely overran. We had locked ourselves away in a break room. We waited for two days in till the Horzine wind-up soldier commando pricks got here to kill them all."

"But how...Why do they get out?'

"They let them out."

"What!" Hawks almost shouted.

"They let them out and try to control them." Stiff said again sight with a slight shake of his head. "Alright kid now you have a choice to make." Hawks didn't know what he meant at the time but after his month of on duty time was over and they sent him home for a week he realized what Stiff meant. In that month there had been four more outbreaks two of which Hawks was off duty for and wasn't needed. One was a large one that took place in entire wing and took the help of every security officer and an hour to completely clear. The worst was the second outbreak where only one got loose. This one was a beast: it was 8 feet tall and built with huge muscles and it had a device implanted in its body that flooded its system with adrenalin when it became injured, enraging him and causing him to berserk. He single handily killed 10 workers and 13 security personal before he was brought down under a hail of gunfire.

That was only five days before Hawks's mouth was up and he was allowed to go home for a week. He had already made up his mind that he was quitting when his wife greeted him as he walked in the door of their new house.

"Oh Nick," She said as she embraced him before he could even drop his duffel bag. "You should see this house it amazing. And Jack is making friends in school already, all the neighbors are nice. It a wonderful neighborhood I so proud of your for taking this job."

"Really?" Hawks asked a little taken back now. His wife cooked him a nice home cooked meal and his son asked him a hundred questions. Then they all settled down to watch a movie in the living room. At 11 pm that night Hawks's son had fallen asleep and his wife carried him up the stairs to his bedroom.

"Coming to bed dear?" she asked.

"In a bit I just want to caught up on some TV I didn't get a chance to watch it while I was gone," He said with a weak smile.

"Don't stay up to late." she said as she walked u the stairs just happy that he was home. When they had left Hawks walked over to the refrigerator and got himself a beer and sat heavily down on the sofa. He stayed up till 3 am and after four beers and the words of his wife he had made up his mind. At the end of the week he showed up back at the bunker ready for duty.

Now three mounts later he was walking around a dark forest quote 'patrolling' freezing his ass off. He had completed his loop and had made it back to the burn barrel where the other officers were already circled around holding their hands close to the flames.

"Evening gentlemen," Hawks said stepping up to the barrel and holding out his own hands.

"Evening yank," One of them said. Most of the other guards gave him shit of being an American.

"Where's Murphy?" Hawks asked looking around and only counting four guards when there should have been five.

"Must be jacking it again," A guard said taking his radio off his belt and holding it up to his mouth. "Hey Murphy get your ass back here." The other guard waited a few moments and when he tried again. "Murphy come in." When he still didn't answer he turn towards Hawks. "Well go get him yank." He ordered.

"Why do I have to go?" Hawks protested.

"Because you're the new jack or I'm the commanding officer here and I said so," The guard said harshly. "Pick one and then go get him."

"Yes sir," Hawks said snapping to attention and the saluting the other guard mocking him. Hawks then walked down a beaten path in to darkness off the night leaving the warmth and the light of the fire.

"You know the spot?" The other guard shouted at Hawks referring to where Murphy liked to masturbate.

"Yeah I know," Hawks said without looking back. It wasn't the first time he was sent after the sexually frustrated guard. As the light of the fired grew dim behind him he slung his G3 across his back and took his flashlight off his belt. He clicked it own the bright white beam cutting into the night air. Hawks fallowed the path till it came to a clearing where a fallen log lay.

"Alright Murphy wrap it up you've already missed check in," Hawks said shining the light on the log expecting to see Murphy sitting on the log reading a dirty magazine but he was MIA. He shone the light around the clearing the beam coming to a stop on a magazine laying on the ground. Hawks walked over and looked at the cover, it was defiantly Murphy's but where was he. Hawks moved the light around the clearing trying to find something, well anything at that point. His light found a red shining patch near a group of trees. His heart starting to pound in his chest he walked over to the patch and knelt next to it. He was no detective but he knew blood when he saw it and walked looked like a set of drag marks leading in to the trees.

Gulping hard Hawks stood back up and started fallowing the trail of drag marks and the ocsally blood spot. Ever thing told him to turn back but he just kept going telling himself that he was going to find Murphy in the next few feet and he would be find. A cracking stick cause him to look up sharply and come to a sudden stop. In one quick monition he had drawn his pistol and pointed it at the location where he had heard the sound. His right hand holding his pistol was crossed with his left hand still holding his flashlight.

"Someone out there?" Hawks asked trying to keep his voice even. He shone the light around seeing nothing and hearing nothing else he holstered the pistol and started walking again. He fallowed the trail in till it abruptly came to an end just in front of a tree. He moved the light around along the ground and made a small circle around the tree, but he could find the trail again. Until his light happened upon a red spot on the tree's trunk. Hawks moved his light up the tree finding more spots, but when he reached the branches he found Murphy. Or what was left of him which wasn't much hanging in the tree and stuck in the branches. Hawks jerked his radio off his belt almost dropping his flashlight as he did so.

"Man down!" He shouted into the box. "I repeat we have a man down!" Hawks lifted his finger off the talked button and waited for the immediate response, but it never came. "I say again we have a man down with possible hostels in the woods!" Still no one responded. "Bill! Terry! Someone come in!" Still only getting static Hawks dropped his radio and flashlight as he pulled his rifle off his back and broke out into a run towards the fire barrel. He heart was pounding in his chest now as he feared the worst now. He could see the flickering light of the fire in the distance and ran even faster breaking out into an all out sprint.

"Guys we have a problem!" Hawks shouted skidding to a stop in front of the barrel. The four guards didn't say anything as Hawks faced the ground with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. When he didn't get a response he looked up still with his hands on his knees breathing hard. The bodies of the four other guards were scattered around the clearing in the same or worse shape as Murphy. Hawks shouldered his rifle as he turned in a slow circle trying to find a target. The cracking of sticks and crunching of dead leaves behind him cause Hawks to spine 180. He still saw nothing but he thought he heard a woman's laughter.

"Where are you!" Hawks demanded wishing he still had his flashlight or radio.

"Give us a kiss," a voice hissed behind him. Hawks wheeled around but still couldn't see anything.


End file.
